This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This project is designed to study insulin dependent diabetes (IDD) in the period prior to and after the clinical onset of disease. The goals of this research are directed at improving our understanding of the autoimmune disease process in order to: 1) design tests, which further enhance the ability to predict who will develop IDD before the onset of symptoms, 2) understand the role of environmental agents (e.g., diet viruses, etc.) in the pathogenesis of IDD, 3) determine the immunological mechanisms which underlie the formation of disease and, 4) advance the ultimate goal of preventing IDD and its disease associated complications.